Washburn’s Behavior ‘Disingenuous’

While investigating that trip, the Federal Bureau of Investigation learned from the Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency that Washburn returned to Cancun from June 15-21. While she was there, her lawyer, W.H. Taylor of Fayetteville, filed a sealed motion that Whatley indicated was another request to postpone the hearing that had been reset for June 25.

The sentencing was rescheduled for Oct. 15 and then again for Oct. 26. In the meantime, according to testimony from FBI agent Mark Wilson of Jonesboro, Washburn spent Sept. 2-8 in Los Cabos.

“To me, it’s kind of disingenuous,” Whatley told Holmes.

“Your honor, I know that 51 months” – the low end of the federal sentencing guideline in Washburn’s case – “is a long time, but three and a half million dollars is a lot of money.”

None of which, Whatley noted dryly, has been repaid, although restitution was part of the plea deal that Washburn agreed to almost a year and a half ago. (Taylor said his client earns about $200,000 a year from her job as an executive headhunter for the Cameron Smith & Associates firm in Rogers.)

“If she can go to Mexico, she can go to FCI Carswell,” the prosecutor said.

Holmes sentenced Washburn to 41 months and said he would recommend the Federal Bureau of Prisons place her at the Carswell Federal Correctional Institution near Fort Worth, Texas.

And while he gave her until Feb. 28 to report so that she could undergo another medical procedure, he did order Washburn to surrender her passport and not to leave the Western District of Arkansas without permission.